It may actually be worth it to break your contract to get started on saving money on cellular/wireless service via an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator - also know as a reseller). Not all MVNO's are alike. MVNO's differ by parent company (ATT vs Verizon vs T-Mobile vs Sprint).
They may even differ by how data is routed
(higher latencies) and priority during peak hours. In general, Gophone
and possibly Aio (a subsidiary of ATT) may be the prepaid choices that
are directly below ATT postpaid customers. Dumping AT&T for an MVNO
keeps you on the same towers for a lot less -- and no fees, taxes or
activation charges.
Some examples are:
http://www.ptel.com/plans - T-Mobile
Rates: Talk 5c Text 2c Data is 10c MB
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/
$16/mo plan. It states "recharge and pay only 2c/minute, 4c/text and 6c/MB with Pay As You Go.
http://goredpocket.com/ - ATT
http://www.puretalkusa.com/
Customers can choose their level of data (or choose none), and will be able to keep any data that they don't use month to month. They now offer rollover data with our plans (a first among MVNOs).
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com - ATT
year plan is 2000 minutes for $100
One warning about H20 is their monthly plan comes with some data. For example, the $30/mo plan is unlimited voice & text and comes with 50MB of data. I rarely use data but the balance says 0 so I called cust serv. Was told I've used up all my data for the month. I checked my phone log and it shows I used less than 10MB so far. WTF. They also said they cannot supply a log of my data usage. In other words, they can say whatever they want regarding my data balance and I have to like it.
AirVoice
$10 plan (4c min/2c text) and I add $10 about every 25 days.
SkyView
Net10 (the AT&T card version - avoid the T-Mobile version). All these services work off AT&T towers and include roaming in HI, AK, VI, and PR.
Voyager mobile, Knoxville, Tenn is $17.00 unlimited talk and $ 19.00 unlimited talk&text
>> FreedomPop Takes Aim At Carriers With Its New, Free Phone Plan
How to Get Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data on an iPhone for $30 a Month
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/10/the-tech-block-cheap-data-plan/
Wikipedia link for all of the US MVNO - It also shows which towers/carriers they use
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
SOURCE
>> http://www.fatwallet.com/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 02: AT&T MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-02-att-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 03: T-Mobile MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-03-t-mobile-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 04: CDMA MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-04-cdma-mvnos/
OTHER PLANSSome examples are:
http://www.ptel.com/plans - T-Mobile
Rates: Talk 5c Text 2c Data is 10c MB
http://www.lycamobile.us/en/
$16/mo plan. It states "recharge and pay only 2c/minute, 4c/text and 6c/MB with Pay As You Go.
http://goredpocket.com/ - ATT
http://www.puretalkusa.com/
Customers can choose their level of data (or choose none), and will be able to keep any data that they don't use month to month. They now offer rollover data with our plans (a first among MVNOs).
https://www.h2owirelessnow.com - ATT
year plan is 2000 minutes for $100
One warning about H20 is their monthly plan comes with some data. For example, the $30/mo plan is unlimited voice & text and comes with 50MB of data. I rarely use data but the balance says 0 so I called cust serv. Was told I've used up all my data for the month. I checked my phone log and it shows I used less than 10MB so far. WTF. They also said they cannot supply a log of my data usage. In other words, they can say whatever they want regarding my data balance and I have to like it.
AirVoice
$10 plan (4c min/2c text) and I add $10 about every 25 days.
SkyView
Net10 (the AT&T card version - avoid the T-Mobile version). All these services work off AT&T towers and include roaming in HI, AK, VI, and PR.
Voyager mobile, Knoxville, Tenn is $17.00 unlimited talk and $ 19.00 unlimited talk&text
>> FreedomPop Takes Aim At Carriers With Its New, Free Phone Plan
How to Get Unlimited Talk, Text, and Data on an iPhone for $30 a Month
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/10/the-tech-block-cheap-data-plan/
Wikipedia link for all of the US MVNO - It also shows which towers/carriers they use
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
SOURCE
>> http://www.fatwallet.com/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 02: AT&T MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-02-att-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 03: T-Mobile MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-03-t-mobile-mvnos/
Picking Your Wireless Carrier part 04: CDMA MVNOs
>> http://pika2000.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/picking-your-wireless-carrier-part-04-cdma-mvnos/
>> http://www.clarkhoward.com/
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?
